Event 1: Rafael Rodriguez Arango Leads the Final 25 Players

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $184,000  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  25 of 736

A scan of the stacks during the break had Rafael Rodriguez Arango as the chip leader, sitting on a stack of about 3,900,000 (39 bb).

With 25 players remaining from the field of 736 entries, the average stack is about 1,180,000 (12 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $1,360.

Event 1: 26th – 63rd Place Finishers

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $184,000  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  25 of 736

26th:  Olivier Edmond  –  $1,360
27th:  Aleph Franzin  –  $1,360
28th:  Amir Baron  –  $1,360
29th:  Pierre-Xavier Laurent  –  $1,360
30th:  Michael Moskowitz  –  $1,360
31st:  Willie Wiggins  –  $1,360

32nd:  Luis Tobo Patino  –  $1,120
33rd:  Michael Giannotti Sanseviero  –  $1,120
34th:  Timothy Green  –  $1,120
35th:  Frank Weigel  –  $1,120
36th:  Raymond Ruszkowski  –  $1,120
37th:  Gary Gelman  –  $1,120
38th:  Perla Ojeda  –  $1,120
39th:  Steven Berman  –  $1,120

40th:  Craig Bagon  –  $960
41st:  Dina Olano Chacin  –  $960
42nd:  Eric Rivera  –  $960
43rd:  Orlando Perez  –  $960
44th:  Amir Elsheikh  –  $960
45th:  Frederick Attias  –  $960
46th:  Yuval Bronshtein  –  $960
47th:  Dayfran Ortiz Nino  –  $960

48th:  Peter Udovik  –  $800
49th:  Santo Biddix  –  $800
50th:  Kanstantsin Tsiareshka  –  $800
51st:  Steven Costa  –  $800
52nd:  Ariel Rosello  –  $800
53rd:  Mutaz Channaoui  –  $800
54th:  Kevin Dubrocq  –  $800
55th:  Juan Barragan Ardila  –  $800

56th:  Jose Rodriguez  –  $680
57th:  Alredfo Rodriguez  –  $680
58th:  Antuan Bunkley  –  $680
59th:  Sean Phillippi  –  $680
60th:  Otto Saravia Monico  –  $680
61st:  Nicolas Fuks Moro  –  $680
62nd:  Ory Hen –  $680
63rd:  Frank Checo  –  $680

Event 1: 64th – 93rd Place Finishers

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $184,000  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  63 of 736

64th:  Oniel McCalla  –  $580
65th:  Dean Sultan  –  $580
66th:  Juan Scardino  –  $580
67th:  Richard Ganesh  –  $580
68th:  Michael Fogelson  –  $580
69th:  Anthony Askey  –  $580
70th:  Pasquale Caiazza  –  $580
71st:  Miriam Sharon  –  $580
72nd:  Simon Armanelli Sapia  –  $580
73rd:  Victor Dieguez  –  $580
74th: Eldo Rodriguez  –  $580
75th:  Leonid Goldshteyn  –  $580
76th:                       –  $580
77th:  Gilfred Bertin Jr.  –  $580

78th:  Hiroyoshi Oshima  –  $500
79th:  Khiel Marx  –  $500
80th:  Calros Torres Vazquez  –  $500
81st:  Craig Beckman  –  $500
82nd:  Daniel Quesada  –  $500
83rd:  David Shmuel  –  $500
84th:  Marcos Saravia Escalante  –  $500
85th:  Carl Batista  –  $500
86th:  Alexander Lampropoulos  –  $500
87th:  Eduardo Soares  –  $500
88th:  Oren Kimmel  –  $500
89th:  Niall Costigan  –  $500
90th:  Jaime Morera  –  $500
91st:  Douglas Finkelstein Muryk  –  $500
92nd:  Michael Dermer  –  $250
93rd:  Matthew Brown  –  $250

Event 1: Matthew Brown Co-Eliminated on the Money Bubble by Manny Amaro

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $184,000  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  91 of 736

On Hand #1 of the money bubbe, Manny Amaro raised from the cutoff, Matthew Brown reraised all in for 115,000 in the small blind, and Amaro called with 9h8h. Brown showed AsQh and needed his hand to hold up to survive.

The board ran out JhTs7h7d3h, giving Amaro a flopped straight and a rivered flush to eliminate Brown on the money bubble.

Along with Michael Dermer’s elimination at another table, the remaining 91 players were in the money, while the 92nd-place payout was split between Dermer and Brown.

Manny Amaro  –  880,000  (35 bb)
Michael Dermer  –  Eliminated in 92nd Place  ($250)
Matthew Brown  –  Eliminated in 93rd Place  ($250)

With 91 players remaining from the field of 736 entries, the average stack is about 324,000 (13 bb). The remaining players are guaranteed at least $500.

Event 1: Tal Rothman and Daniel Letts Lead the Field at Break

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
Prize Pool:  $184,000  |  Structure  |  Payouts
Level 17:  3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 ante
Players Remaining:  216 of 736

A scan of the stacks during the most recent break showed two players above the 400k mark and leading the field.

Tal Rothman has about 520,000 (87 bb) and is the clear chip leader, while Daniel Letts in second with about 455,000 (76 bb).

With about 216 players remaining from the field of 736 entries, the average stack is about 136,000 (23 bb). The final 92 players will finish in the money.

Event 1: Prize Pool and Payouts; $29,160 and a $3,500 LHPO Championship Seat to the Winner

2026 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 1
$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guarantee
Entries:  736
Prize Pool:  $184,000
January 6, 2026

The opening event of the 2026 Lucky Hearts Poker Open was a $300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 736 entries generated a prize pool of $184,000, nearly doubling the guarantee. The final 92 players will finish in the money, with a min-cash paying $500.

Up top for the winner is $29,160, along with a $3,500 seat into the LHPO championship.

1st:  $29,160 + $3,500 LHPO Championship Seat + Trophy
2nd:  $19,600
3rd:  $14,600
4th:  $10,900
5th:  $8,200
6th:  $6,300
7th:  $4,840
8th:  $3,760
9th-10th:  $2,940
11th-12th:  $2,560
13th-15th:  $2,220
16th-19th:  $1,900
20th-23rd:  $1,600
24th-31st:  $1,360
32nd-39th:  $1,120
40th-47th:  $960
48th-55th:  $800
56th-63rd:  $680
64th-77th: $580
78th-92nd:  $500

Event 1: Cards in the Air!

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 1:  100/100
Entries:  196

Cards are in the air for the 2026 Lucky Hearts Poker Open with a huge turnout already. We have 196 players at the start of the $300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack to put them halfway to the $100,000 guarantee with registration available until 8:30 pm.

The first LHPO trophy is going to come from a big field.

Event 1: Kicking off the Series

$300 Slater Scoops Quad Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$100,0000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 1:  100/100

Andy Slater hosts the first major event of 2026

Switching up the schedule a little to start the 2026 Lucky Hearts Poker Open, we are rolling out a huge one-day trophy event, and it gets underway at 4 pm in the Grand Ballroom.

The special tournament is a massive version of our regular Slater Scoops tournament, and we expect a huge turnout. When we held this tournament in July to kick off the SHRPO series, it drew 519 entries, packing the room.

Event 1 has a $300 buy-in, a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, and 40K Quad Stacks. All levels last 20 minutes and late registration is available until the start the start of Level 13 at 8:30 pm.

  • $100,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • $3,500 LHPO WPT Championship seat added to 1st place
  • Players begin with 40,000 in chips
  • Levels last 20 minutes
  • Late registration until start of Level 13 (8:30pm)
  • This is a one-day tournament and plays until completion
  • Event 1 Structure Sheet